R&D Infrastructure & Innovation

Highlight the opportunities and challenges of building future-ready research and development infrastructures for advancing AI, robotics, and digital platforms to drive breakthroughs

A world class research and development infrastructure is the bedrock of technological progress. This initiative examines the evolving landscape of public and private R&D, focusing on the facilities, digital platforms, and funding models required to support advancements in emerging technologies.

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NSF's National Security Mission for the Twenty-First Century

Sustaining the National Science Foundation's national security mission into the twenty-first century will require complementing investments in basic research with accelerating innovation and translating discoveries into commercial and security advantages.

Event — April 3, 2026

Leveraging SBIR for Quantum Commercialization and Supply Chain Growth

The U.S. government is spending far too little on efforts to commercialize quantum technologies. Its SBIR and STTR programs provide critical early-stage funding to stabilize the domestic supply chain and bridge the “valley of death” for small firms. 

Report by Phillip Singerman and Hideki Tomoshige — March 30, 2026

Audio Briefs

Understanding Federal Equity Investments in Strategic Companies

An audio version of “⁠Understanding Federal Equity Investments in Strategic Companies⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, and Christina Tutino. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, and Christina Tutino — February 12, 2026

Audio Briefs

Understanding Federal Equity Investments in Strategic Companies

The Trump administration has marked a significant shift in U.S. industrial policy. The U.S. government is now a direct shareholder in private companies, moving beyond traditional market-based approaches to competitiveness that have marked U.S. policy in the postwar period. 

Commentary by Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, and Christina Tutino — February 12, 2026

Tech Edge: A Living Playbook for America’s Technology Long Game

Winning the tech race is not about any single breakthrough. Leadership requires competing across the full menu of technologies, developing the dexterity to build at speed and scale, and defending our domestic markets from nonmarket competition.

Report by CSIS Scholars — January 20, 2026

Innovation Lightbulb: The Workforce Dimension of Innovation Leadership

When measuring research and development (R&D) leadership, spending alone does not tell the full story. Researcher density—the number of researchers per million people—is also critical, as concentrated talent accelerates knowledge creation, collaboration, and absorptive capacity across an economy.

Blog Post by Shruti Sharma — October 2, 2025